


Sonata for Whitestone Castle

by Lordoflesamis



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: And Cassandra, Arranged Marriage AU, As does Percy, Dark themes but overall happy story, F/M, Gothic Horror AU, The twins deserve the world, and just everyone, kind of slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 03:25:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17931938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lordoflesamis/pseuds/Lordoflesamis
Summary: An ominous, dark castle looming in the distance as snow falls heavily, turning to slush under the wheels of their carriage... A darkened portrait of a smiling family, eerie now in its tragedy...When Vex'ahlia's father agrees for her to be married to the mysterious future lord of whitestone, Percival de Rolo, she is nervous enough without hearing the rumours about his family, about his caretakers- about his own lack of humanity. Now heading towards the unknown, she is desperate to keep her brother and Pike by her side, hoping that they can together bring the light of Saranrae to this dark place, to these broken people they are about to find...





	Sonata for Whitestone Castle

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly just got the craving for the gothic (who doesn't every now and again?) enjoy!

Winter loomed ominously, not far enough away, playing on her mind like a recurring bad dream. It was dark, and much colder than they had feared. Vex’ahlia watched the snowflakes be whipped into the wind, swirling into the distance and disappearing into the grey of the night sky. Outside, just at the edge of her vision, Trinket sat out in the courtyard, sniffing around for something in the cobblestones. The only light that broke through the darkness was the dim glow of Saranrae’s temple across the courtyard; it seemed as if Pike was working, into the night.

Pike was a good childhood friend of hers, having been raised by the Vessar family priest, Wilhelm, and you would hardly know she wasn’t a member of their family. She spoke eloquently and sweetly, and her hair was always tied into intricate buns above her simple but elegant cream robes. She ran the small temple within their keep with grace and kindness, and she was the only member of their staff Vex’s brother would give the time of day (Other than the stable boy Grog, though their relationship was not entirely understood by her). As Vex watched, sat on the window-seat of her bedroom, the door to the temple opened and Trinket charged inside, having been called by Pike, presumably.

Vex’ahlia sighed, got down from the window-seat, and crossed the room to her bed. It was four-poster, expensive, and warm as she removed her slippers and slid into it, pushing the wide white lace monstrosity her father called a night-gown down to her calves again. She untied her hair from the braid she had tied in her brother’s absence and sighed, lying down into the pillows. As she thought about how comfortable she was she tried not to cry.

////

“Pike,” Vax’ildan’s voice made the priest jump as she stooped to serve Trinket some warm milk.

“Good evening sir.” She said, curtseying, then ran to hug him, “I’ve missed you!” she sang as he spun her around, a smile on his striking face. She was tiny, and next to her the average-heighted Vax’ildan seemed positively towering. 

“Pike,” Vax repeated, voice warm and fond, “I have missed you.”

Vax had been away to Syngorn, to visit their father and his new family, on request of the aforementioned dear father. It was only a week’s carriage journey away, but it had kept him much longer for diplomatic reasons he couldn’t care less about. He had also been informed of his sister’s betrothal while in Syngorn, and had cut the visit shorter than their father wanted, writing a letter to Vex’ahlia that he would be home within the week, and that he would fix this. But the winter had been harsh on the roads, and it had taken two weeks, and the deal had been sealed with the Lord and Lady of Whitestone by the time he reached Greyskull keep. 

“What are you doing here?” Pike asked, relief spreading in a smile across her cute-as-a-button-features.

“I thought I would come say hello. Before I go to find my sister, I mean. How is she?” Vax was weary- from travel or stress, it was hard to say. He wore a plain white shirt under a black suit and waistcoat, hat brim covering some of his features, long black coat collar popped, hiding further stretches of pale skin. His hair was long- not as long as his sisters, as he would have liked, but long for the standard men’s fashion- and fell a little over his face as he spoke.

“She is… alright.” Pike said uneasily. Her eyes went to the floor as she sighed, “She is angry and she is a little sad. I think she’s afraid, a little. You hear weird things about the Briarwoods.” 

Vax’s brow furrowed, “You do?”

Pike nodded solemnly, taking his hands and leading him to one of the pews, “You mustn’t worry about it, Vax’ildan. Not now. You must be strong for her. We all must be strong for Vex right now.” There were tears in her eyes.

A shock of fear ran up Vax’s spine like a lightning bolt. What kind of people could inspire such fear in someone as courageous as Pike?

“They have no fear, they say.” Pike said, her face a deathly white, “They fear not the Raven Queen’s touch nor do they strive for Saranrae’s light. They say that the previous Lord and Lady of Whitestone fell ill and died due to this mystery disease. And only two of their children are left.”

“Who are the Lord and Lady of Whitestone then? If the parents are dead and my sister is to marry the young Lord?”

“Lord and Lady Briarwood,” Pike said, then, glancing about, “I had Grog bring me some books from Emon. I’ve done some research. Some of the locals call them vampires.”

“Vampires?” Vax asked, a laugh escaping his lips with his breath.

Pike laughed too, an empty jingle, then continued, “I don’t believe it of course. But I did find out that some people believe the Briarwoods poisoned the de Rolos.” 

“Wouldn’t we know? I mean- if someone had done something like that.”

“If someone is rich enough, nobody would know.” Pike said, then sighed again, “Don’t wake her now, Vax. She has a rough few weeks ahead and… she’ll be glad to see you in the morning.”

Vax didn’t respond. His eyes were downcast and sad. It broke Pike’s heart to see them like that. “Chin up,” she said, “At least you can be with her now. And-“ she swallowed, “And I will come to visit, should you approve my time off?”

Vax laughed, “Oh, I guess I have that power don’t I? You have months off,” he declared, suddenly, making Pike stare, “As many months as it takes for my sister to be happy in Whitestone. Come with us, Pike, and please- when I cannot: Stay with my sister.”

“How-“

“You go as her handmaiden, or something! Look after her! Keep Saranrae’s blessing with you both.” Vax said, his voice pleading.

Pike pulled a face, then met his eyes. After a little while she spoke, “Alright. I will. But you keep close by. I don’t trust these people.”

“I will. She will never meet my sight.” Vax said, then kissed her forehead, “Goodnight, Pike. And thank you.”

“Of course,” she said. 

She watched him slink back to the main keep, making no noise as he opened the doors leading inside, disappearing into the darkness. She prayed a little more, and then, after being nudged by Trinket’s wet nose, stood and went to her bedroom above the temple, putting out the candles on her way upstairs. 

///

A large black bird had landed outside of Cassandra de Rolo’s bedroom window. It pecked at a little bit of bread she had placed in the frost, beak squeezing between the bars. “Good evening, your highness,” she smiled, and trembling fingers grasped the bar on either side of it.

The raven hopped along the stone of her windowsill, its beady eyes looking beyond her into her bedroom. Her bed was in disarray, her bedsheets still tied together from her last desperate attempt at escape. A tray of food, delivered by her brother a few hours ago, sat ignored on her writing-desk, beside the spilled ink bottle and snuffed out candle. The top sheet of parchment, addressed to a woman who would never receive it, lay too stained to be legible. Her quills taken away, a spiteful bruise on her cheek, and her heart was once again broken. She tried to hold it together, fingers clinging to the bars, but it had began to crumble like sand in her chest. 

Her brother, she thought as she watched the raven take flight in the snow, the swirling flakes a stark contrast to its dark armour and the pitch of the sky, was gone. He had to be. That man she had seen today, for the first time in a month, was not Lord Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III. He was some kind monster, a grotesque shadow of the man she had once known. Perhaps, she thought as she took a few steps back from the window into the darkness of her room, she had also faded over time. Perhaps she was just as pitiful a comparison to the girl she had been before. Before the Briarwoods had come. 

The Briarwoods had found the letter of warning she had been about to send Vex’ahlia, and taken away her quills, spilling the ink. They’d pushed her to the stone floor, too- Cassandra could feel bruises tickling at her forearms and a little swell of blood on the back of her skull. She wondered if Lord Briarwood could smell it from wherever he was in the castle. 

She paced the floor once again to the window. The raven had left a feather on the sill. A present. She smiled, and took it inside before the wind could steal it, tucking it into her skirts, before getting changed for bed. She paused, in the mirror, hand hovering over the streak of white through her hair, before she untied it. “Oh Vex’ahlia,” she thought, “I hope you never make it to Whitestone.” 

A cold shiver ran up her spine, and she hurried into bed, tears in her eyes that she would never let fall. Not until the Briarwoods were dead and gone.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave kudos/comments, they make me so happy!


End file.
